heartbreak house study guide

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The Goodman Theatre Student Subscription Series

2003-2004 Season

Student Guide

Heartbreak House

Directed by Kate Whor iskey

Student Guide wr itten and designed by Kr istin Leahey, Education and Community Programs Coordinator

Edited and published by The Goodman Theatre Stacey Balli s, Director of Education and Community Programs

Megan Welch, Education and Community Programs Coordinator

KRAFT FOODS is the Principal Sponsor of the 2003-2004 free Student Subscription Series�

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The Education Club is a group of individuals, corporations, and foundations dedicated to and inspired by the theater's education and community programs. As Premiere Society donors of $2,500 and above, these Club members have aff ili ated their interests and support with these particular programs and receive indepth access to the activities and educational tools used to encourage students to begin a li felong adventure with the theater.

Principal Sponsor of the Student Subscription Series Allstate Alphawood Foundation Bank of America Foundation Maria Bechily and Scott Hodes Blum-Kovler Foundation Helen Brach Foundation Deborah A. Bricker The Chicago Community Trust Chicago Tribune Foundation Citigroup Foundation The Crown Family Patrick and Anna M. Cudahy Fund Lloyd A. Fry Foundation Sheila and Mike Kurzman Chauncey and Marion D. McCormick Family Foundation Nancy A. Lauter and Alfred L. McDougal Charitable Fund Colonel Stanley Reed McNeil Foundation Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust The Northern Trust Company Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Papoutisis The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund Polk Bros. Foundation PricewaterhouseCoopers Dr. Scholl Foundation The Siragusa Foundation The St. Paul Companies Foundation, Inc. Colleen H. Sulli van Carl and Marilynn Thoma Robert H. Welke and Malissa Shirkey �



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The Playwr ight George Bernard Shaw was born in 1856 in Dublin, Ireland, to a lower-middle class family. He hated being called "George," so he went by Bernard in-stead. His father was an unsuccessful merchant with a drinking problem and his mother was a profes-sional singer. When Shaw was fifteen years old, his mother left to li ve with another man in England. She took Shaw’s sister, Lucy, with her. Shaw remained in Dublin with his father, completing his education and working as a clerk in an off ice. He was a poor student and hated his job.

In 1876, Shaw left Dublin and moved to Lon-don and lived with his mother. His mother finan-cially supported him while he pursued a career in journalism and writing. He completed five novels before any of them were published. He loved to read in public libraries all over the city. Shaw also be-came involved in politi cs. Standing on soapboxes at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, he learned to overcome his stage fright.

Shaw was a member of the Fabian Society, a politi cal organization dedicated to transforming Brit-ain into a socialist state. Meanwhile, as a journalist, Shaw worked as an art criti c, then, as a music critic, and, finally, as theatre criti c for the Saturday Review. In 1891, Shaw wrote his first play, Widowers’ Houses. For the next twelve years, he wrote close to a dozen plays, though few were performed. One of the plays produced abroad was Arms and the Man, and one play that the Lord Chamberlain’s Examiner

of Plays censored was Mrs. Warren’s Profession. And several productions were presented in single performances by private societies.

In 1898, after a serious ill ness, Shaw resigned as theatre criti c, and moved out of his mother's house to marry Charlotte Payne-Townsend. Their marriage

lasted until Charlotte's death in 1943. In 1904, Harley Granvill e Barker, an ac-tor, director and playwright who had ap-peared in a private theatre society's production of Shaw's Candida, took over the management of the Court Theatre. He set it up as an experimental thea-tre. Over the next ten years, all but one of Shaw's plays (Pygmalion in 1914) was produced either by Barker or by Barker's friends in the experimental theaters around England. With royalties from his plays, Shaw became quite wealthy and comfortable. Throughout the decade, he remained active in the Fabian Society, in city government as an elected of-ficial, and on committees dedicated to ending dra-matic censorship. He actively supported establish-ing a National Theatre supported financially by the government.

The outbreak of war in 1914 changed Shaw's li fe. He believed the war was a tragic waste of young lives. He expressed his opinions in a series of news-paper articles under the title Common Sense About the War. These articles proved to be a disaster for Shaw's public image: he was treated as an outcast, and there was even talk of his being tried for trea-son. He succeeded in writing only one major play during the war years, Heartbreak House, which pro-jected his sadness about British politi cs and society. After the war, Shaw found his dramatic voice again and rebuilt his reputation, first with a series of f ive plays, Back to Methuselah, and then, in 1923, with Saint Joan.

In 1925 he was awarded the Nobel Pr ize for L iterature. Shaw's plays were regularly produced and revived in London. Several theater companies in the United States began producing his plays, old and new, on a regular basis. In the late 1920s, a Shaw festival was established in England. Shaw lived the rest of his li fe as an international celebrity, traveling the world, continually involved in local and interna-

The ideas of Bernard Shaw = the commonplaces of his time. The ideas of Bernard Shaw + his way of presenting then = G.B.S -John Palmer from George Bernard Shaw: Har lequin or Patr iot

Socialism: the poli tical and economic theory that advocates a system of collective or government ownership and management of the means of production and distr ibution of goods. I t calls for cooperation and social service rather than competition and profit.



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The Playwr ight tional politi cs. He continued to write thousands of letters and over a dozen more plays. In 1950, Shaw fell off a ladder while trimming a tree on his prop-erty in Hertfordshire, outside of London; he died a few days later of complications from the injury at age 94.

Shaw’s Plays Widowers’ Houses (1892) Arms and the Man (1894) Candida (1987) The Philanders (1898) You Never Can Tell (1899) Captain Brassbound’s Conversion (1900) Caesar and Cleopatra (1901) Three Plays for Puritans (1901) Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1902) Man and Superman (1905) Major Barbara (1905) The Doctor’s Dilemma (1906) John Bull ’s Other Island (1907) Misalli ance (1910) Androcles and the Lion (1912) Pygmalion (1913) Heartbreak House (1920) Saint Joan (1923)

Arms and the Man is a classic tale of mistaken identities, crazy love tr iangles, and ambitious patr iotism. Set in Bulgar ia in 1885, it pokes fun at the romanticizing of love and war. Raina, a young woman swayed by ill usions of heroism, meets Captain Bluntschli , the " chocolate soldier," who, as a weary career soldier, has learned to prefer chocolates to bullets. The story leads us through Raina’s question of what constitutes a perfect mate.

Into the happy household of the Reverend James Mavor M orell and his wife Candida comes the wealthy poet Eugene Marchbanks, who is a " strange, shy youth of eighteen." Although a foolishly hotheaded, romantic youth, he exposes the indifference and smugness of the Morells’ marr iage. Candida was performed at the Goodman dur ing the 1983-1984 season.

Major Barbara por trays the conflict between the spir itual and wor ldly power of Barbara, a major in the Salvation Army, and her father, a milli onaire arms manufacturer - Andrew Undershaft. While visiting her East End shelter for the poor , as par t of a bargain between them, her father reveals that the shelter’s benefactor made his money by making whiskey. Barbara suffers a crisis of faith as she glimpses the possibili ty that all salvation is tainted at the source. Barbara eventually recovers her spir it as she embraces new the possibili ty of hope for the future.

Pygmalion is the story of a snobbish and intellectual professor of languages, Henry Higgins. He makes a bet with his fr iend that he can take a London flower seller , Eliza Dooli tt le, from the gutters and pass her off as a society lady. However, he discovers that this involves dealing with a human being with ideas of her own. The film My Fair Lady is based on Pygmalion .

Saint Joan relates how Joan, a simple and faithful French country gir l, sees visions and hears voices that she believes come directly from God. Accepting God's direction for her li fe, Joan successfully dr ives the English from Or leans and crowns the Dauphin as the King of France. She is burned at the stake for her effor ts. This production was performed at the Goodman dur ing the 1977-1978 season.



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Vocabulary abstemious accursedly

acquaintance adversary affably

agitation agonizing ailments

aloft anticlimax

aplomb baited barren

Beethoven benevolently

bigamy blackguard boatswain Bohemian

candor capitalist Captain chandler

civili zation clerical

conventionally colonies

complacently condescended consecrated conservative consternation

contemptuously conversion credulous cultivated cyanide

dandified dauntless degraded diabolical dictator

diplomatizing disill usioned

disposed disposition dividends

divine doggedly

draughtsman earnest enigma enmity

enterprising entitled

erroneous exceedingly explosively forecastle forlornly

frictionless futile

Gali leo gallantry govern

graciously gratify

gratitude grievances haughty Heshbon

hospitali ty humane humbly

hypnotism ignominiously

immortal impertinent

imperturbable impudence indignantly

industry inertly

inexorable infalli ble ingratiate

inopportunely liabilit ies

liberal liberties

liquidation listlessness liverishly loathed

magnanimous magnetic Mahatma

manufacturers matrimonial melancholy menagerie

mischievously missionary

moral mortally Napoleon navigation neurotic novelty

obliterate odious placid patent

patronage patronizing persecuting

pertly philosopher

pious plaintively

Plato platonic

poop port

precipitate presentiment

probe propitiate

providence provisionally

prudence puritan

recoili ng recumbent resignation resolutely

River Jordan ruthlessly

sentimental sentry serene

Shelley skinflint solitary sordid

starboard stolidly

strenuously subsides suff icient suffused sulkily

superbly supplants Sussex

syndicate tedious

temptestuously Tennyson torment torrent

transfigured typhoon

vehemently vermin vessel vexed vices

vigilance vigourously voluptuously

vulgar wallowing

weary wrathfully

wretch Zanzibar



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Director KATE WHORISKEY (Director) returns to the Goodman where she recently directed The Rose Tattoo and the world premiere of Drowning Crow. She has served as an artistic associate at La Jolla Playhouse and is currently artistic as-sociate at Intiman Theatre through a TCG New Generations Grant. She most recently directed Antigone at South Coast Repertory. Other regional credits include The Master Builder at American Repertory Theatre; Lady from the Sea and The Chairs at Intiman Theatre and Desire Under the Elms at Perseverance Theatre. She has worked with writers Regina Taylor, Lynn Nottage and Michael Ondaatje. Ms. Whoriskey is a graduate of NYU-Tisch School of the Arts and ART's Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. A recipient of an NEA/TCG Director's Fellowship, she has

also acted as a visiting professor at UC Davis. The Role of the Director A director’s job is to decide what perspective the play should be told from. This perspective could emphasize one character, a theme, or the director’s visual interpretation of the play. First, the director selects a play that he/she finds interesting, appropriate for the potential audience, and that can be produced with the finances available. Next, the director will do careful research and readings of the text. The director develops a concept, which is a particular in-sight of the play’s characters, story, and style. The director will meet with designers about how the concept can be interpreted through lights, sounds, set, and props. At this point, the director then casts actors in roles that they will fit. In rehearsal, the cast will read through the scripts. Depend-ing on the director, after the readings, the play will be put on its feet. The director will block, the movement on stage, actors and discuss with the actors how to interpret the text. The rehearsals continue; whole acts are run rather than indi-vidual scenes, and nuances will continuously be added by the director to develop his/her concept. The director’s job is not complete until the play has opened and changes are no longer being made. Some directors are minimalists - there are very few props or special effects, the director relies on his/her actors and their movement to perform the play. Some directors are very realistic – a scene from the play resembles an occurrence from reali ty. Some directors’ interpretations are extremely abstract and symbolic. The director tries to bring new li fe to the work with their concept while respecting the playwright’s text.

Questions: 1. Define director’s concept. 2. Give examples of different conceptual styles. 3. How would you characterize Whoriskey’s concept for Heartbreak House? 4. What is the director’s role in the production? 5. Name what other types of theatre professionals a director works with during the creative

process of putting on a play.

Kate Whoriskey in rehearsal for Heartbreak House © Michael Brosilow

The Rose Tattoo from the Goodman Theatre’s 2002-2003 season.

© Liz Lauren



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OnStage Worksheet 1. Where and when was Shaw born?

2. What was Shaw’s mother’s occupation?

3. What work did Shaw do before becoming a playwright?

4. What society did he join? What type of organization was it?

5. What playwright did Shaw often read?

6. What was his first play?

7. What audience did Shaw’s plays appeal to?

8. What did he publish about the war?

9. How did Shaw die and at what age?

10.How did England interpret Shaw’s work and thought on war prior to WWI?

11.When was Heartbreak House written; when and where was it produced?

12.What was Shaw’s reaction to the war?

13.What did Shaw say in his letter to Stella Campbell?

14.What play did Shaw compare Heartbreak House to?

15. Interpret Shaw’s quote on the top of page 6.

16.What does Shaw say about the zeppelins?

17.What other shows has Kate Whoriskey directed at the Goodman?

18.Why is Heartbreak House an important play for modern audiences?

19.What major event in this century has contributed to Whoriskey’s interpretation?

20.What did Shaw show audiences about themselves?

21.What does Whoriskey say about the opposition to Shaw during WWI?

22.What was an essay that Whoriskey looked at when preparing for Heartbreak House?



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Characters

Lady Ar iadne Utterword The less Bohemian daughter of the captain ran off at the age of eighteen to marry. She has returned to a less than warm welcome. Lady Utterword has al-

ways been plagued by the problem of men falli ng in love with her and not loving them in return. Al-

though she thinks of herself as an extremely sophisti-cated, Lady Utterword is a bit behind the times.

Nurse Guiness Has worked as part of the staff of Heartbreak House since Lady Utterword and Mrs. Hushabye were chil-dren. She tries to keep the house that is fill ed with

chaos under some manageable control. She introduces the audience to the disorder of the house and family, as many low-status Shavian characters do. A surprise re-

lationship of hers is revealed toward the end of the play.

Captain Shotover He is the strange sea captain and father of Hesione and Ariadne . He is constantly trying to “attain the

seventh degree of concentration.” The captain once sailed his ship “ the Dauntless” around the world. Al-though he appears to li ve without rhyme or reason, he is well aware of what is going on under and above

his roof.

Elli e Dunn Elli e appears as the sweet innocent singer who will help her family’s reputation by marrying into wealth. Her love of the classics, such as Othello, influences her romantic sentiments. She has to decide to follow her heart or her head. Elli e, unlike her father Mazzini Dunn, is very enterprising in discovering how she can make the most out of a situation.

Mazzini Dunn Captain Shotover is convinced that Mr. Dunn was a pirate from his seafaring days. Mazzini is the “best man” his daughter Elli e has ever known, although, he is not the best in business. He has lost all control of his business and now runs a company owned by the notorious Boss Mangan.

Hesione Hushabye Mrs. Hushabye takes after her odd father, and is the lady of Heartbreak House. Her bewitching appearance is rather deceptive. Unfortunately,

her trademark locks are not genuine. She is en-tertained by the personal business of others, but accepts the fact that her husband Hector’s per-

sonal business is his own.

Randall Utterword He is a gentleman who has the tendency to cause

scenes. He has traveled all over the world to follow the irresistible Lady Utterword, the wife of his diplo-

mat, older brother. The flute player is plagued by jeal-ously and would travel to the ends of the earth to save

his love.

Hector Hushabye Hector is the dashing man-about-town who

woos the young ladies with his fictional stories of adventure, abandonment, and tigers. He wins over Elli e, Lady Utterword and, of course, his wife, Mrs. Hushabye. When he is not saying something extremely profound or alluring

about society or himself, he is attempting to sacrifice for the greater moral good. By turning on all the lights in Heartbreak House, he tries to sacrifice it and all of its troubled inhabitants

for the cause of broken love.

Boss Mangan He is a plain, weak man with a powerful image. Although he has a head for business, he lacks a heart for love. He has decided to marry the very young Elli e Dunn, but his attention has turned to another lady. His love of money practically guarantees his demise when he is joined by another crook.



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In England, time periods have traditionally been named after the ruling monarch. In addition, they are characterized by such aspects of culture as tastes in art and food, social class, invention, and politi cs. Heartbreak House is heavily influenced by the Edwardian Era (approximately 1901-1914), named for Ed-ward VII, who reigned from 1901 to 1910. The Edwardian Era was a time of great prosper ity, a golden age of relative ease that is reflected by the bustle in the Utterword home at the beginning of Heartbreak House. It was also a time of drastic change. By Act II I of the play, the lighthearted, carefreee image of li fe has been shattered by the rumbling of World War I and, li ke England itself, the Utterword household is plunged into a new era of darkness. Let’s examine the traits that define the time period. Think about the period of time that you live in, then compare your li fe to the society or culture found in Heartbreak House.

History: The Eras of Heartbreak House

Diet The diet of the English depended on what they could afford. People who moved to the city to work in factories, the lower class urban popula-tion, were eating foods that were low in nutri-tional value and cost. They could not afford and didn’ t have access to fresh meats, dairy, fruits and vegetables. The diet of the working class family included bacon, kippers (small , inexpen-sive fish), bread with butter or cheese, and once a week there was the possibili ty of eating fresh meat. Working middle class men began to eat food at cafes around the city rather than bringing food from home to work. These meals were quick, cheap and easier than homemade lunches. This was the type of quick lunch that Mazzini would have had during the workday. Upper class dining was extravagant and fill ed with gourmet food. An extremely popular mid-day meal was afternoon tea. Afternoon tea was from three o’clock to five o’clock every week-day. It was served at; the lady of the house would serve her guests tiny sandwiches, petite desserts, and various types of tea and they would share the latest gossip. The women from Heart-break House must have been accustomed to daily afternoon tea. The Utterwood home would most li kely have upper class dining experience. A sit-down dinner would have eight to ten courses and last for hours.

Menu Here is a sample dinner menu for the passenger liner Ti-

tanic which sailed and sank in 1912. Appetizers: oysters, cream of barley soup, roast pigeon, pates, and salmon mousse. Main Courses: filet mignon, lamb in mint sauce, beef sirloin with potatoes, baked haddock, curried chicken and rice, and roast turkey with cranberry sauce. Desser ts: Waldorf pudding, peaches in jelly, chocolate and vanill a éclairs, French and American ice cream, coffee, assorted fruits, nuts, and cheese.

Recipes for Tea A very popular item served at tea was cucumber tea sandwiches. Serving: 2-6 sandwiches Ingredients/tools: 1. 4 slices of white bread 2. cream cheese (1/4 of a cup) 3. cucumber (1/2 cup of sliced vegetable) 4. pinch of salt 5. pinch of pepper 6. knife 7. metal cookie cutter (optional) 8. bacon (optional) Cut the cucumber into thin slices. Spread the cream cheese over the bread. Sprinkle pepper and salt over the cream cheese. Place the cucumbers on the top. If you like, place your cooked bacon on the sandwich with the cucumber. Cut off the crusts of your sand-wich; use the cookie cutter or knife to cut the sandwich into small triangles or into the shape of your cookie cutter. Serve the sandwiches with hot tea!



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What were the popular styles of ar t? All of Europe was decorated in the style of art nouveau - new art. It was not only seen in paintings, but also in ar-chitecture, furniture, clothing, and household items. Art nouveau has bright and metalli c patterns that are repeated in designs inspired by nature. The popular French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was considered an ar t nouveau painter. Lautrec’s paintings were set in popular French nightclubs. The Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was also considered an art nouveau painter. He painted large, colorful, imaginative portraits, mostly of women with long hair and very pale skin. He com-bined pastels with metalli c colors, such as gold, in his paintings. Similar to the personaliti es of many Ed-wardians, art nouveau was excessive and uninhibited by tradition.

How were people entertained? Elli e was a singer who would perform at small theaters for an upper class audience, which is how she at-tracted the interest of Hector. The most popular form of entertainment during the Edwardian era was the grand music hall . One of the most famous halls was the Coliseum at St. Martin’s Lane. It was a revolving, ten thousand square foot stage that rotated twenty miles per hour. Also, musical theater originated in the Edwardian era and grew in popularity. Audiences loved that musicals were light and entertaining. Shaw’s plays were very successful, although most straight plays didn’ t attract large audiences because of their se-rious nature. During World War I, plays were heavily censored if they contained anti-war sentiments. A majority of the theater written for mass audiences during World War I expressed full support of the war.

What was being wr itten? Literature during the Edwardian era was very versa-tile. The most popular playwright was Bernard Shaw; his work both entertained and dealt with im-portant social issues. E.M. Forster, author of the nov-els Howard’s End and Room with a View, tackled the theme of social injustice. H.G. Wells, author of The Time Machine, wrote about the future. The popular writer Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book, was considered a fantasy and adventure novelist. The British were still captivated by the romanticism of Shakespeare, as Elli e was when she fell i n love read-ing Othello. Questions: Do you recognize any of the authors from this section on Edwardian literature? From the titles mentioned, have you seen any modern movies adapted from these classics? Have you read any material from the period? Have you read any of the writing men-tioned?

History: The Eras of Heartbreak House

Vocal Warm-up: During the late 19th and early 20th century, the fa-mous director and lyr icist Willi am S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sulli van created light operas. Their work became the foundation of musical thea-ter that was popular in the Edwardian era. Their lyrics live on in vocal exercises used by many ac-tors. A popular exercise is from the opera The Mikado. Actors memorize the text below and at-tempt to say it as fast and clearly as they can to pre-pare their voices. Read the excerpt below outloud, and repeat it, increasing your speed each time. Re-member, in order to be effective you need to pro-nounce the words clearly and quickly.

“ To sit in solemn silence in a dull , dark dock, In a pestilential pr ison, with a life-long lock, Awaiting the sensation of a shor t, sharp shock, From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!”

View this ar tistic style by visiting The Art Institute of Chicago. The museum’s

European collection contains works of Lautrec and Klimt, along with works of

other painters and decorative ar tists from the period.



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History: The Eras of Heartbreak House What new discover ies made life modern? The Edwardians were the first to enjoy inventions such as the automobile, electricity, light bulbs, elevators, skyscrapers, bicycles, sewing machine, and more factory jobs were created to produce these inventions. They also invented many things themselves, including the telephone, typewriters, mass produced automo-biles, the vacuum cleaner, the air conditioner, fire extinguishers, washing detergent, neon lighting, the die-sel locomotive, the bra, the electric food mixer, refrigerators, relativity theory, radium, and the X-Ray Ma-chine. One of the most important inventions of the early twentieth century was the airplane. In 1903, the Americans Orvill e and Wilbur Wright made their first successful flight over Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. � Reflection: You now have a sense of the culture of Edwardian England and England during World War I. Compare it to the culture of your modern li fe.

• Describe the culture of twenty-first century United States. • What is the modern diet? • What styles of art and entertainment do people enjoy? • Name some inventions created in your li fetime. What single invention do you believe has changed

your li fe the most? How do you use it in your everyday li fe? How would you get along without this invention?

• Pick a book that you feel represents today’s society. Describe how the subject matter, style, and point of view reflect current society.

• How is Edwardian culture different from modern culture? How are the two cultures similar?

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To Think About: Captain Shotover is an inventor . What type of inventions has he created? Look at the text and find what type of inventions are regarded as valuable dur ing the time per iod of Heartbreak House. What is sought after more than “ li fe saving” inventions? What does this say about their society?



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History: Role of Women “ The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not

how she behaves, but how she is treated.” – Bernard Shaw

During the Edwardian Era, female characters in plays were often portrayed as sweet damsels in distress, the vill ainous femme fatales, or as elderly mothers and grandmothers. Shaw’s female characters were more complicated than these one-dimensional portraits that audiences had grown accustomed to. Heartbreak House’s female characters are excellent examples of complex Shavian women; they con-vey intell igence, beauty, desire, and many other traits. Women during the Edwardian Age were ladies, but ladies who began to question their place in society. Education: Elli e was educated in school for two years, when her father, Mazzani, received a business loan from Mangan. When business failed, Elli e had to leave school because her family couldn’ t afford her education any longer. How women were educated depended on their family’s wealth and if they thought it was a priority. Wealthy young women may have attended girls’ boarding schools and studied subjects such as hygiene, home eco-nomics, and social graces. Elementary and grade school were free to all students; however, to continue on in public education boys and girls would pay sixteen pounds a year. Universities began to accept women. Many institutions wanted their male and female students to be equally challenged academically. In the early twentieth century, women’s education began to show great improvement. Marr iage: The most important question in a woman’s li fe was whom she would marry. When wealthy women turned eighteen they would be presented before the king and queen at court. After they were presented, young women could be courted for marriage. During this year, they would attend balls, parties, and social functions to meet eligible men. The young women, or debutantes, would wear a long white dress, gloves, and their hair up at these func-tions. The age of the young women’s suitors was of littl e impor-tance. Many young women would marry rich men with titles twice their age. The goal at the end of the season was to be en-gaged to the finest eligible man or bachelor .

The Definition of the Edwardian Lady:

“ A woman of easy circumstances, assured, socially so well placed that everywhere she

would be accorded respectful consideration: one who could not possibly accept paid employment, nor would need to. One’s fathers, brothers, and husbands were land owners, perhaps members of

par liament, or safe in the upper [ranks] of the law, the army, or the church. She

necessar ily did not have a title. Women who had acquired money through their

husbands were less highly regarded than having wealth and status in one’s family.”

– From The Edwardian Lady

“ There is nothing more wounding to our sense of human dignity than husband hunting that begins in every family when the daughters become marr iageable; but it is inevitable under existing circumstances; and the parents who refuse to engage in it are bad parents, though they may be superior individuals. The cubs of a humane tigress would starve.” –Bernard Shaw

Rights of a Wife: 1. A court couldn’ t require a wife to li ve with her husband. 2. The wife had authority to use her husband’s credit to fulfill her needs and the needs of the household. 3. If the couple separated, the wife was allowed to apply for custody of the children until they were age 17. 4. If her husband died, the wife re-ceived one third, if not more, of the husband’s wealth. 5. All of the woman’s personal prop-erty acquired before the marriage was not controlled by her husband. 6. A woman who was separated or di-vorced from her husband was a woman of “ lost reputation” in society.



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History: Role of Women Working Women:

In 1901, four milli on women were employed. Like Nurse Guiness half of those held positions in do-mestic service as maids, governesses, cooks, or baby nurses. The other half worked in shops, businesses, factories, and post offices.

Br itish Suff ragists:

In Great Britain the women’s suff rage “right to vote” movement was similar to the United States suffrage movement, but it was more violent. During the 1830s and 1840s, the movement received aid and support from human rights organizations. In following years, suffrage continued to be an important issue because of support from liberal legislators, among them the statesmen and philosophers John Stuart Mill , John Bright, and Richard Cobden. In 1865, Mill helped to found the first British women’s suffrage associa-tion, which was opposed by anti-suffragists such as Queen Victoria and the British prime ministers Willi am Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli . Nevertheless, the British suffrage movement grew. In 1897, various feminist groups merged to form the National Union of Woman Suffrage Societies. Some members, such as Emmeline Pankhurst, felt the societies were not aggressive enough. In 1903, she established the militant Women's Social and Politi cal Union. The organization held boycotts, bombed, picketed, and harassed anti-suffragist legislators. In 1913, one member hurled herself to her death under the hooves of horses racing in the Derby at Epsom Downs. During World War I the British suff ragettes ceased their violent acts and con-tributed to the war effort, favorably influencing public opinion. In 1918, Parliament granted the right to vote to all women household owners, household owners' wives, and female university graduates over 30 years of age. Parliament lowered the voting age of women to 21 in 1928, giving them complete poli tical equali ty with men. Women and WWI:

World War I changed the traditional roles of women. Many women went to work and actively be-came involved in the war effort. One milli on women went to work in munitions industries, 40,000 served as nurses, 20,000 joined the women’s land army as farm workers, and 80,000 served in women’s auxili ary corps. Women, in general, never fought in combat. But Flora Sandes, a Red Cross nurse in the Balkans, became an off icer in the Serbian army. With short-cropped hair and wearing a man’s uniform, she was hailed by the press as the “Serbian Joan of Arc.” In 1916, she published An English Women’s Sergeant in the Serbian Army and toured around Britain to raise funds for the war relief. Women still had to maintain their homes while they were busy working. The government wanted women to encourage their male fam-ily members to fight in the war. What would the role of women be during the post-war years? In 1918, af-ter a long fight by suff ragists the British government granted women the right to vote.

Activity: Think about it! How would Hesione, Ell ie, and Lady Utterword fit into society? How do their li ves fit the rights of a wife? Imagine how educated they are. Would they be involved in the war effor t or with the suffragist movement?



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History: Wor ld War I : Is it Right to Publish? When Shaw completed Heartbreak House during World War I, he questioned whether to publish the work immediately or wait until after the war. He held very strong and influential beliefs on many different sub-jects such as religion, women, and war. Heartbreak House began as a comedy that depicts freedom, wealth and a time that was essentially carefree. There is littl e reference to the war not until Act III, when the char-acters hear a “drumming” which builds to a storm of explosions from the sky. By the end of the play, the characters realize that their li ves will be dramaticall y different than before. Similar to these fictional char-acters, the world facing World War I never realized that li fe would permanently change. Why was Shaw unsure whether to publish his play right away or wait until after the war? To understand the choice Shaw eventually made, we must understand more about World War I (WWI ), called ‘The Great War ’ . Lets Begin At The Beginning: Before World War I, a majority of Europe was divided into countries ruled by monarchs, kings and/or queens. Different countries supported each other in agreements called alli ances. If one country attacked another, the alli es of the attacked country would provide support. At the end of the nineteenth century, great tension was building between countries. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who would have been the king of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated in Serbia. Serbia was part of an alli ance opposing Austria –Hungary’s alli ance. This assassination started a chain of different alli ances in WWI and was the spark of the war. How countries became involved in the war was similar to setting up dominoes and watching them fall . One alli ance formed, then another, and so forth. Here is how different countries became involved in WWI:

1. Austr ia-Hungary declares war Serbia on July 28, 1914. 2. Russia defends Serbia. 3. Germany declares war on Russia to defend Austria-Hungary on August 1. 4. France declares war on Germany to defend Russia on August 3. 5. Germany needs to travel to Belgium to get to France so Germany attacks Belgium on August 4. 6. Great Br itain declares war on Germany to defend Belgium and France on August 4. 7. Australia declares war on Germany to defend Great Britain. 8. Canada declares war on Germany to defend Great Britain. 9. India declares war on Germany to defend Great Britain. 10. South Afr ica declares war on Germany to defend Great Britain. 11. New Zealand declares war on Germany to defend Great Britain. 12. United States joins the British alli ance on April 6, 1917 when American and British tourists were kill ed during a German attack on The Lusitanian in 1917. 13. I taly first supported the German alli ance, then switched to support the British.

What do you think? Shaw wrote a play that poked fun at a war in which many lives were lost. How might World War I audi-ence react to watching Heartbreak House during wartime?



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History: War time Zeppelins:

The drumming in Heartbreak House is produced by German zeppelins. During WWI, aircraft were first utili zed as a form of military defense. Besides using planes in air warfare, the Germans attacked Europe with zeppelins, air ships that looked like giant, grey, oval-shaped balloons. They were supported by a frame, fil led with gases, and flew above

20,000 feet in the air; they carried bombs to drop on the British countryside in places like Essex. In the be-ginning of the war, the zeppelins were very successful in causing damage. On September 8 1915, zeppe-lins dropped bombs on London that caused more than half a milli on pounds (approximately equal to a cur-rent half a milli on dollars) worth of damage. To prevent future attacks, Great Britain began blackout dr ill s. When enemy aircraft were sighted, an alarm was sounded throughout the countryside, signaling that every-one should turn off the lights in their homes and run to a bomb shelter for safety. The darkness made it dif-ficult for enemy aircraft to locate ground targets to drop bombs on. It is amazing to think that a large bal-loon could cause so much damage. Shaw may have made the zeppelin, rather than a plane, part of the grand finale of Heartbreak House because it was so odd, comic, and less threatening in appearance. The German army constructed one hundred and fifteen zeppelins; seventy-seven of the total constructed were severely damaged and/or destroyed. The cost of making a zeppelin was five times the amount of the dam-age it infli cted. Trench war fare: World War I was fought in the trenches - dirt valleys of land barricaded with barbed wire. They served as a form of shelter, a shield from gunfire, a place to eat whatever food was available, a meeting room to strategize, and a make-shift bedroom to sleep in. In the trenches disease was easily spread and there was no protection for the soldiers from rain or snow. The number of casualties in the trenches was very high. What do you think? • Shaw was well aware of what was going on in the trenches of France during the war. Many of his

countrymen were being kill ed in battle as soldiers and as civili ans in England from the air bombings called bli tzes. How do you think this information affected his decision to wait and publish Heartbreak House after the Great War?

“ There was a sor t of splendid drumming in the sky. Did none of you hear it? I t came from a distance and died away.” ~ Mr s. Hushabye

The following is a diary entry of Private Harold Saunders, who served in the trenches of Vimy Ridge, France:

“The trenches were crowded with men all packed up and unable to go, and it rained - heavens, how it rained! Hour after hour we stood there in the rising flood, helpless as sheep in the pen, while the guns did their worst…One got used to many things, but I never overcame my horror of the rats. They abounded in some parts, great loathsome beasts gorged with flesh. I shall never forget a dug-out at the back of the line near Anzin…Lice and wind-up came into my li fe about the same time. At stand-to one morning a flight of whizz-bangs skimmed the top of the trench. The man next to me went down with a scream and half his face gone. The sand-bag in front of me was ripped open and I was blinded and half-choked with its contents…The trenches were crowded with men all packed up and from the moon, and I saw it was a headless body. I went back to my post, frightened beyond anything that should be humanly possible. Twice I was blown off my feet by the concussion of bursting shells. The whine of falli ng shrapnel fill ed the air. I seemed to be all alone in a world tottering into ruin. If only the noise would stop I felt I might keep my reason. I think I prayed for a direct hit to end it all . By a miracle, however, I was not even touched.”



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History: War time • Find an reference to zeppelins in the script. • Find an example of a blackout drill i n the script.

Who urges the blackout dril l? Who is against the procedure and would rather make Heart-break House a target?

• Describe the role of the gravel pit in the play. Who ends up in the gravel pit? What is the fate of those in the gravel pit?

• Read the information on trench warfare. Write a paragraph comparing the gravel pit to a trench. Describe how the gravel pit is symbolic of trench war-fare.

Many patr iotic men and boys enlisted in WWI. The famous war poet Wil fred Owen wrote about the youth who fought in World War I. Read his poem below: " Anthem for a Doomed Youth" What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries for them from prayers or bells, Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, The shrill , demented choirs of waili ng shells; And bugles calli ng for them from sad shires. What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds, And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

“W hen men are heroically dying for their country, it is not the time to show their lovers and wives and fathers and mothers how they

are being sacrificed to the blunders of boobies, the cupidity of capitalists, the ambition of

conquerors, the electioneering of demagogues.” -George Bernard Shaw

Follow up questions: 1. Define the terms sacrifice, blunder, cupidity, capitalist, ambition, conquer, electioneering, and demagogue. 2. Why did Shaw make the choice not to publish the play until 1919 after the war? 3. How do you interpret Shaw’s role and opinions as a leader from his quote? 4. Do you think Shaw blamed soldiers or others for the war? 5. Was Shaw against the war? (You may have to do more research to answer.) 6. Can you give an example from your li fetime when published materials or jokes about national issues were not happening because of the pain and suffering of war or some other sensitive issue? 7. If you created a piece of art or a play or a joke about a sensitive subject that could hurt the feeling of a lot of people, would you share it with those people at the time they were hurting? 8. Was Shaw right not to publish his play during World War I? 9. Do you think censor ing is justified in any time period? 10. Why do you think ‘ freedom of speech’ is important?



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Comedic Elements

Shaw is known for his comedies of ideas, tightly constructed comedies with strong connections to social is-sues. Comedy is an extremely sophisticated art form that many theater artists consider more challenging to create and perform than dramatic work. The comic elements that audiences find so funny are also varied. Heartbreak House is fill ed with many comeic elements. Shaw’s Comic Structure: “Comedy is more diff icult [than drama] because it requires a sense of humor and a good deal of vivacity; but the process is essentially the same: it is the manufacture of the misunderstanding… You make the first act out of a necessary introduction of the characters to the audience, after an elaborate explanations, mostly conducted by servants, solicitors, and other low li fe personages (the principles must all be dukes and colo-nels and milli onaires), of how misunderstanding is going to come about. Your last act consists, of course, of clearing up the misunderstanding, and generally getting the audience out of the theatre the best you can.” Shaw on writing popular plays - Three Plays by Shaw Mistaken Identity is a favorite comic device that is used in Heartbreak House. Captain Shotover mis-takes the identity of one of the characters. Which one? Whenever a character’s identity is mistaken, in or-der for the comic device to be effective, the true character must be revealed in the play. Slapstick is extremely important in scenes with a lot of physical energy. It is a form of comedy marked by chases, colli sions, and crude practical jokes. Where in Heartbreak House do you see slapstick? Slap-stick is visual, comedic element best appreciated when seeing it in a production rather than reading it in the text. In fact, slapstick was the most popular comic device in silent films because the actors’ speech was in-audible. The humor had to be portrayed physically. Verbal Comedy is a vital device in Heartbreak House. We live in a culture where there is a great em-phasize on what we say and how it sounds. In Heartbreak House the characters are very strange - “supernatural,” as Hector describes them. And they say very odd things. For example, Hector says about Elli e’s relationship with the Captain, “That’s an extraordinary girl. She has the ancient mariner on a string like a Pekinese dog.” It seems odd to compare the captain of a ship to a small dog, but it is very funny. Ver-bal comedy is often absurd or extreme. Villain Hero is represented in the character of Boss Mangan. The audience thinks Mangan is the antago-nist (the anti–hero), before he enters, because he is a much older man wanting to marry the daughter of a lower level employee. Mangan is doomed to fail from the beginning, as are all vill ain heroes. And all vil-lains are forced into foolish situations in which their true selves are exposed. Mangan literally exposes himself when he begins to strip down to his underwear in Act II I. All vill ain heroes, in the end, either re-deem themselves by becoming good, or are left behind or destroyed because they unable to change. What happens to Mangan?

“ L ife does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.”

– Bernard Shaw



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Comedic Elements Repetition is one of the most important elements of comedy. Captain Shotover’s favorite expression in Heartbreak House is “ to attain the seventh degree of concentration.” It is repeated, but the audience doesn’ t understand what it means until Act III. The number three is a magic number in comedy. According to the “Rule of Three,” a joke repeated three times makes it funny. For example, in the beginning of Heartbreak House, there is a joke in a series of three about Elli e getting a cup of tea. First, Elli e desires a cup of tea and no one is there to get it; second, Nurse Guiness gives her a cup of Indian tea and the Captain takes it away because it is Indian tea; third, she receives a proper cup of tea from the Captain. Of course, by this point in time, she is very thirsty, but she voluntarily gives her tea to Lady Utterword to comfort her when her father, the Captain, fails to recognize her. Reflection:

1. Is the Goodman’s production of Shaw’s Heartbreak House consistent with his analysis on writing a comedy?

2. Where are other places in the play that these comic elements are used? 3. What are your favorite jokes and comic scenes in the play? 4. How is Mazzini a comic character? 5. Is the ending funny?

6. Do you recognize these comic elements in other plays or films? Activity: Secrets A very important part of comedy is improvisation, the abili ty to come up with an idea or action on the spur of the moment. Test out your comic improvisational skill s with a group of friends. Goal: For you and your scene partner to figure out each other’s secrets. Try incorporating the previous comic elements into your improvised scenes. 1. Use characters from Heartbreak House. 2. Two scene partners choose the characters they want to portray (i.e., Elli e and Lady Utterword). 3. Each volunteer actor needs to create a potential secret the character could have. For example, Randall l oves Lady Utterword. 4. Each actor must keep their secret to themselves. DON’T tell the other actor in the scene. 5. Ask the audience for a location of where the scene should take place (i.e., Heartbreak House) 6. Improvise a scene, as your character, with the secret you have decided on. Instead of directly telli ng your scene partner the secret give them clues as to what your secret maybe. 7. In the scene, try to think about the comic elements in Heartbreak House. Add some of them to help

figure out each other’s secrets. 8. Announce the potential secret of your scene partner to see if you are right or not as the scene is being played. 9. Continue the scene until you both have discovered each other’s secrets.



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Sail ing Captain Shotover used to sail the eastern seas on his ship, the Dauntless. Living in Heartbreak House he keeps the memory of his seafaring adventure days alive by looking through his atlases, turning the wheel of his ship, and sharing his ancient mariner’s tales. In his original script, Shaw describes the structure of the house as being in the shape of a sailboat. Similar to a stage, a boat has different parts and sec-tions. Learn these saili ng terms and the parts of a stage in the following activity:

Shakespeare Elli e is fascinated by the play Othello; she loves the wonderful stories that Othello tells Desdemona. In reality, Elli e has found a man who reminds her of Othello, Marcus Darnley. Unfortunately, Mrs. Hushabye informs her that the ad-venturous Darnley is as fictitious as Othello’s tales. Try this activity to see how good a storyteller you are. The L iar ’s Contest: Number of Players: six or more. Goal: Convince others that something that did not happen to you really did. 1. Divide into groups. 2. In these smaller groups each person tells a story of something that happened to him/her (i.e., an accident, a memorable vacation, an embarrassing situation). 3. Choose one of the stories that everyone will t ell as their own “ true” story. The person the events actu-ally happened to should tell it again. The group should remember the plot of the story and add new details. 4. Members of each group prepare this chosen story as if it were their own. 5. Members of each group will t ell their versions of their stories. 6. The audience will decide who is telli ng the truth – whose story is really in each of the different groups.

Saili ng and Shakespeare

Ship Terms: Battens: Wood or plastic strips that act as stiffeners for the sail . Bow: Front end of the boat. Keel: The weighted fin at the bottom of the boat that keeps the boat from slipping sideways through the water. Mast: The large vertical stick that supports the sail and boom. Por t: The left side of the boat when facing forward. Starboard: The right side of the boat when facing forward. Stern: Back end of the boat.

Ship’s Command: Number of players: 3 or more Goal: Learn stage directions and parts of a boat. It’s a variation of the game Simon Says. 1. Designate a captain for your ship; everyone else is a member of the crew. 2. The crew should face the Captain and be ready to receive commands. 3. The captain can command the crew by saying the words stern, port, starboard, bow, keel, or overboard. For stern the crew needs to go upstage (towards the back of the stage). For bow the crew needs to stand downstage (closest to the audi-ence). For Starboard the crew needs to go to stage right (from the perspective of the actor’s right – the right side of the stage). For port the crew needs to go stage left (from the perspective of the actor’s left – the left side of the stage). For keel the crew needs to pretend to be a fish. For overboard all the players need to make a straight line and mime rowing as if they were saili ng on a ship. The crew member that doesn’ t do it is the overboard. 4. The crew needs to follow the captain’s commands or they will end up in the gallows (out). The captain needs to give the crew enough time between commands. 5. The crew member left becomes the next captain.

Shakespeare's tragedy, set in Italy, is about Othello and his marriage with Desdemona. Iago, didn’ t receive a promotion, is jealous of Othello, a high ranking black military officer. Iago weaves a web of lies to make Othello question Desdemona’s love for him. Othello becomes increasingly jealous. She tries to convince him of her devotion. Not believing her, Othello smoothers her to death and takes his own li fe. Iago’s falsities are discovered and he is executed.



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Costumes are an important theatrical element that contributes to the suspension of the audience’s belief that they are watching a play. Costumes that the actors wear help the audience believe they are watching a slice of reali ty. Below are some questions from an interview with Laura Larsen, Susan Lemerand, and Heidi McM ath about the costumes:

1. What are the different jobs in the costume shop? There is the designer, who creates what the costumes should look like. She (in the case of Heartbreak House) creates renderings, drawings of how she wants the cos-tumes to be. The designer is not working on the construc-tion of the costumes in the shop. She will come for the fit-tings of the costumes to see how they look on the actors as they are being constructed and finished. The shop man-ager facilit ates the execution of the costume design for the designer and for the Goodman, assuring that the high qual-ity standards of both are met, and that the costumes are pro-duced on time, on budget, and maintained in good condition throughout the run of the show. The shop manager is responsible for hiring all costume shop staff . The drapers take the designer’s renderings and bring them to li fe. They make the patterns for all costumes built i n the shop and figure out how to work with the fabric that the designer has chosen. They greatly influence the final look, shape and quality of the costumes by the patterning and fitting they do, as well as by how they oversee their con-struction team of first hand and stitchers. The draper’s first hand cuts the fabric from the draper’s pat-terns, assists in fittings, and helps oversee crew of stitchers. The stitchers take the cut fabric and stitch

it together using a variety of machines as well and working by hand, as their experience and instructions require. For Heartbreak House there are two teams, each with a draper and first hand, as well as five stitchers. Shop staff eight hour days, often adding additional hours or days to the work week as the tech week deadline approaches.

2. What is the design and construction process for cos-tumes? After discussing the vision and the world of the play, with

the director, the designer creates sketches of the costumes called renderings. Once the director has ap-proved the costume designers renderings or other artwork, the designer discusses the designs with the costume shop manager so that the manager can plan the execution of the design and determine if the costumes can be produced for the budget allotted by the theatre. (the budget is the amount of money that will be spent to produce the costumes). Once the budget of a design is approved, work on the show is divided up according to the shop manager’s plan. Shoppers are assigned all the costumes that will be purchased, and assignments of all costumes to be built are made to each draping team. Actors then come to the shop for measurements and the draper makes a pattern for the garment using a dress form the size of the actor. The first hand takes the pattern and cuts it out in inexpensive fabric such as muslin. The stitcher then sews the muslin into a rough, unfinished version of the garment called a mockup. The draper fits the mockup on the actor to get the fit of the garment correct before cutting it in to the more expensive show fabric. The designer is present in fittings and can make changes to the

Costumes



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design as needed, often with the input of the actor. For example, the actors can give details of the movement they have in the garment and make sure they can do all they need to in the costume. Once the mockup fitting is done, the very same procedure of cutting, stitching and fitting the fabric is done with the actual fabric for the show. All along the way the costumes are being adjusted for fit, and actor comfort, as well as for changes in the design that may be necessitated by what is happening in the re-hearsal process. It is a highly collaborative process. Digital pictures are frequently utili zed to show all of the interested parties what each stage of the costumes look like. If a designer is unavailable for a fitting, a digital photo can be emailed to him/her. Directors also often like to see the photos to comment on the process and the changing needs of the show and design. Once the show is ready to rehearse onstage, the cos-tumes will continue to be changed as needed. Sometimes costumes are found not to work as well for a character or a scene as anticipated and a new costume may have to be shopped, built or rented. Some-times a costume may have to be dyed a different color to work better with the lights or the set. On many productions the changes continue up until opening night. . 3. What are “per iod” costumes? How did the period of Heartbreak House influence the costumes? Period costumes look like what people would wear in play’s time period. Heartbreak House is set in 1914. but, Lady Utterword’s clothes are a bit behind the play’s period – she is less modern. The hat she wears has a very wide brim in comparison to Elli e, whose sleek, close fitting hat is very current for 1914. 4. Are personali ty traits of the characters portrayed in the costumes they are wearing? In Heartbreak House there are specific choices in colors, the lines, or silhouettes (how the costumes fit) of the garments for the different characters. 5. Are the costumes built i n the shop? Are costumes from past shows pulled to be used in current shows? Are costumes purchased? For Heartbreak House all of the actresses’ costumes are being built from scratch in the shop. Most of the actors’ costumes are rented from other theaters or costume rental companies. A majority of the shoes are pulled from stock (where costumes of past shows are kept) or are being purchased and altered to fit the period. A lot of shoes today look very modern so a lot of alternations need to be made in the shop to make them look like they are from an earlier period. Parts of costumes, such as shoes, can also be purchased from the internet. 6. To work in a costume shop as a seamstress, a designer, or a shop manager, what type of education and training do you need? Most have attended college or graduate school for a master of f ine arts in costume design and have worked extensively in costume shops. 7. What are some of the major tools that are used to construct costumes? A lot of different tools are used: a sewing machine to sew the material together, patterns and scissors to cut the fabric, sergers to treat the edges of fabric, industrial irons, a dye vat to color the fabric.



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8. Do the designer and the shop staff stay involved with the show until the opening night? The designer and the shop are active until the show opens. During the technical rehearsal week, when lights and sound are added, the shop is able to see the costumes worn by the actors in the show. Details are added and changes are made (i.e., jewelry is added, costumes are distressed to make them look older, the actors’ makeup is altered). After the show opens, the costume shop aids the wardrobe running crew in maintaining the costumes.



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